US Report: Balkans Lack Resources to Fight Terror

The US State Department's 2017 terrorism country reports, released on Wednesday, show that many European countries remain concerned about returning foreign terrorist fighters, while the main issue in the Balkans appears to be a lack of resources.

The report says Albania was a strong supporter of counterterrorism efforts in 2017 and continued its participation in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, making significant donations of weapons and ammunition.

But it noted that corruption and barriers to information-sharing among government agencies, insufficient intra-agency coordination, and a poorly functioning judicial system continue to hinder Albania's efforts.

Recent constitutional and legal reforms to the judiciary are underway, beginning with the vetting of Albania's 800 judges and prosecutors for corruption, proficiency and ties to organized crime, it noted.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, legislative loopholes and lenient sentencing remained major challenges although the country remains a cooperative counter-terrorism partner and continued to increase its counter-terrorism capacity in 2017.

Extremist ideologies and regional nationalist groups remain potential sources of terrorism in Bosnia, with little progress made on rehabilitation and de-radicalization, the report noted.

On Bulgaria, the report says the country is now completing its update to its 2015-2020 National Strategy for Countering Radicalization and Terrorism.

In 2017, the country adopted new legislation directing that public buildings, including schools, transportation hubs, tourism sites and facilities, and houses of worship, develop counter-terrorism risk assessments and prevention and response measures in the event of a terrorist attack.

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